Reconstruction of the Fables: The Myth of Education for Democracy, Social Reconstruction and Education for Democratic Citizenship

Todd S. Hawley, Andrew L. Hostetler, Evan Mooney

Abstract

A central goal of social studies education is to prepare students for citizenship in a democracy. Further, trends in the social, political, and economic circumstances, currently and historically in American education and society broadly suggest that: 1) a need for change exists, 2) that change is possible and can be brought about through a reconsideration of social reconstructionist ideas and values, especially those espoused by George Counts, and 3) that social studies teachers and teacher educators can work toward this change through educational practices. In this paper, we argue for these three points through a critical discussion of a perpetuated myth of democratic education.